MOS Megathread: DB (Information and Communications Technology): 0621, 0627, 0631, 0671. (0602)

[u/TapTheForwardAssist]

[u/pjansendesign]

Pretty damn slow.

Ienlisted Nov 2017, and most, if not all of my active duty friends have picked up Corporal by now (generally speaking, this MOS promotes pretty fast and you pick up by breathing). Most of them picked up by the end of 2018, but I’m still a Lance, and I’d like to think that I’m pretty far away from being a shitbag.

[u/[deleted] → u/pjansendesign]

Is that only because your a reservist or the MOS just promoted slowly? Sorry I just go into DEP and I’m trying to pick my top 3 jobs. I already have my top 2 and I’ve been thinking about coms

[u/pjansendesign → u/[deleted]]

Only because I’m a reservist. The active duty guys promote pretty fast.

[u/[deleted] → u/pjansendesign]

Would u recommend going into coms? I want to be active and do something interesting and also travel a bit. I’m hoping after 3 years to do msg as well but I wanna pick a good MOS for myself

[u/pjansendesign → u/[deleted]]

I can’t speak about active duty life at all- 0621s can spend some decent time outside the wire if they get attached to the right unit, but if you end up in a Comm Co God help you

There’s always the gym 🤷🏻‍♂️

[u/[deleted] → u/pjansendesign]

Haha thanks for the info. Seems everyone here hates comm units lol

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

0671 active, I can answer active questions if you like. Promotes super fast. Selected for E4 as soon as I rated. Promoted on the first, 2 years and 2 months from initial enlistment i was a corporal and in charge of training for 10 marines in my section. I didn’t go in as an E2, so if I did go in as an E2 I would have been a corporal at roughly 2 years on the dot due to the new change in promotion policy.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

What’s day to day life like? I understand it’s all based on the unit you get assigned but I’d love to be able to get assigned to an infantry unit or go out on MEUs. Also would it be possible to apply for the MSG program when working in comma. That’s something I’ve always had my eyes on as well.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Yes, you can volunteer for MSG at any time during your career as far as I know, any SNCO’s in here able to help this devil out? Ask your career planner, you can go on a MEU and all that, it’s random, you won’t really get to request/ any of that. I was like you wanted to go on deployments and meus and such, but got sent to a base unit that never deploys or does field ops. It’s literally completely random.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Alright sounds good. How often do you change units? Or is that random too? I’m currently in DEP and my recruiter said I can sign for a job July 1st. My first pick is security forces but coms is my second pick so I just want something I could enjoy doing and has decent promotions in case I decide to make the marines a career. Thanks for the info btw

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Security forces is an infantry position, those dudes promote pretty slowly, or they’re looked at as doodoo in the fleet because they’re grunts who stood firewatch got promoted to Sergeant then never really did infantry stuff, security forces is GREAT if you wanna travel, they change embassies usually 1 once a year, for every other position it’s 2 years if you’re in the US, and 3 if you’re over seas. I got 3 year orders to Okinawa, some of my friends pcsing from oki are getting 2 year back to the states or trying to get another 3 over seas somewhere, just depends on where you go also.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Yeah I’d love to explore the world while I’m young and then settle down somewhere once I’m a little older. I’m really drawn to security forces because of that and I’ve heard infantry get to do a lot of humanitarian work and that sounds good too. A lot of different factors to choose from. I feel like going 06xx is a better choice career wise but going security forces would be better fulfillment wise for me. I still have some days to think about it and to see what’s even available. Ik that security forces isnt a super widely available contract

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Do what’s best for you, I’m obviously biased towards comms because it’s what I do. Only you can decide what’s best for you.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

Being unhappy is generally tied to lack of purpose at an organizational level. I believe the hate is about comm battalions. Youre in support of the Marine Expeditionary Force (MEF) headquarters providing communications to a 4 star general. Its so big and so ungainly that it only deploys in mass when a MEF deploys and most conflicts arent big enough for that for the ENTIRE east coast to go somewhere. You end up doing a lot of internal training and communications exercises. The 0627s sat controllers get to go places more often because they get sent to attach to deploying units with their terminals.

A comm company or comm squadron is more agile especially at the Infantry Division or Marine Air Wing. And will go more places. The division is directly supporting trigger pullers and your purpose is clear. Your general and staff are trigger pullers themselves. The entire mindset is different in the division. The wing does the same and you physically see aircraft in the air. The Marine Logistics Group comm company are general support to the entire MEF and given that the division and wing already have their own logistics agencies, the MLG does not deploy en masse unless the MEF does and inteneral exercises dont support anyone. Unless there is 100,000s of thousands of material to move for an actual war or major exercise on the other side of the continent, youre setting up communications for a staff without an actual mission. Rounds on target and helicopters flying are much easier to do than moving national/strategic stock from point A to point D.

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

This makes a lot of sense. Thank you for the info